A Few 2015 Favorites | Part I

Ideally, I would have included with this post a beaming flat lay of all my favorite things, drenched in a glowy white light.

Instead, I'm jumping right in, because - if I wait for everything to be perfect, nothing will ever happen. (It's my mantra for 2016).

Hello. I should have started there. I'm Jennifer. My friends call me Jen (never "Jenny") and you can, too. This is my part of the Internet - I write here. I hope you like it. Speaking of things to like (transition FTW), what better way to learn about me and this space, than to read about what I loved most in 2015?

Later, I'll talk about what the year was like - it was monumental and overall very difficult. Small things help, and these were the little things that made the year slightly more bearable:

| BOOKS

In 2015 I made no resolutions at all - I don't ever, really. Because of my lack of resolutions, I feel completely neutral about the lack of books I read last year. I began a lot, but only finished a few (you'll soon realize this is a recurring theme, here). However, I broke outside of my normal genre of Young Adult fantasy fiction, and found a real gem in Night Film by Marisha Pessl. It's dark, scary and full of suspense. A great October read, and I hope to pick it up again soon to re-read it for all of the subtle plot tricks Pessl sprinkles in that I'm positive I missed the first time.

Secondly (and lastly, I'm afraid) I began the Weetzie Bat series by reading the first two very short novels Weetzie Bat and Witch Baby by Francesca Lia Block, conveniently included in this anthology. It was a great summer read, I loved following Weetzie Bat, My Secret Agent Lover Man, and company through the creative punk scene of Los Angeles. I think what I loved most about these stories is that I was given the opportunity to grow with Weetzie, through high school where she just doesn't have a place, through her first real relationship, motherhood and beyond. This is so much more than a "coming of age" tale. I'm excited to finish the anthology and move to Block's most recent Weetzie Bat story.

| MUSIC

This year I discovered Halsey, and practically loved every second. Initially, I found her through a Broods Pandora Radio station, but only discovered Broods through Troye Sivan. Phew! Though, I do enjoy being taken on a musical journey of discovery like that occasionally. Of course, I've had Badlands on repeat, as well as Blue Neighbourhood. I thoroughly enjoyed Tryxe last year, and Sivan's first LP did not disappoint. Other standouts of the year include Urban Flora by Alina Baraz and Galimatias, Another Eternity by Purity Ring, Black Bear by Andrew Belle and TwelveFour by The Paper Kites. I thought I was finished, but I absolutely have to mention Ryan Adams' 1989 complete cover album. It was exponentially better than the original, in my opinion - and much better fit my tastes.

However, my musical tastes are pretty varied (the exception being country music, #sorrynotsorry), so I should mention a few individual songs I really enjoyed:

All Day, Kanye West
Push, Nick Jonas
Octohate, Ryn Weaver
Style, Taylor Swift
Yoga, Janelle Monet and Jidenna
Talking Body, Tove-Lo
Good Thing, Sage the Gemini feat. Nick Jonas
Often, The Weeknd
Play No Games, Big Sean feat. Chris Brown and Ty Dolla $ign
Cool for the Summer, Demi Lovato
Elastic Heart, Sia
7/11, Beyonce

| TELEVISION

As this has become significantly longer than I anticipated, I'll finish up this first part with my television favorites of the year. My husband and I do not watch a great deal of television. I assure you there's no "holier than thou" reason - we're not spending that time reading encyclopedias. Instead of channel surfing, we just watch TV programs we really like via Chromecast or Roku - and there are a few.

Downton Abbey ended a six-season run with one of the best, tear-inducing series finales of all time. I stream the show from the UK, so I won't include any spoilers for my American readers. However, I was very pleased with the ending. It almost made up for the fact that there will be no more episodes. Almost.

I finally watched House of Cards after months of being prodded by a good friend. I can't believe I slept on this show for so long! The first two seasons are especially good, with the third not being terrible, but just not up to par with its predecessors. Kevin Spacey is an incredible and versatile actor - and dare I say - sexy? (shudder) in this role. Another amazing Netflix offering is Aziz Ansari's Master of None. He really captures the plight of the late 20-somethings.

Black Jesus is a hilarious, and entirely too short, scripted show on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Aaron McGruder has delivered again, but I hope this doesn't go the way of The Boondocks with inconsistent airing and long hiatuses. Open your mind and give it a try, if you haven't already.

If you've hung in thus far - congratulations, and thank you. I don't anticipate being this long winded for the duration of our time together, but I've been away for so long and I have so much to say! Next, I'll share a great deal of beauty items that I discovered and loved last year. Come back?